deprecate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to express earnest disapproval of.
The physician’s committee moved to deprecate the standard American diet.
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to urge reasons against; protest against (a scheme, purpose, etc.).
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to depreciate; belittle.
How can companies redress the experiences of marginalized team members whose voices are being deprecated in the workplace?
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Computers. to cease supporting or recommending the use of (older elements, features, or versions of software).
The publisher deprecates products after five years or if more than two more recent versions are available.
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Archaic. to pray for deliverance from.
verb
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to express disapproval of; protest against
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to depreciate (a person, someone's character, etc); belittle
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archaic to try to ward off by prayer
Commonly Confused
See depreciate
Synonym Usage
See decry.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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deprecationnoun
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deprecatornoun
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deprecatingadjective
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deprecativeadjective
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half-deprecatingadjective
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nondeprecatingadjective
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undeprecatingadjective
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deprecatinglyadverb
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deprecativelyadverb
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half-deprecatinglyadverb
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nondeprecatinglyadverb
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undeprecatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deprecatesimple
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deprecatessimple
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have deprecatedperfect
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has deprecatedperfect
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am deprecatingprogressive
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are deprecatingprogressive
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is deprecatingprogressive
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have been deprecatingperfect progressive
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has been deprecatingperfect progressive
Past
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deprecatedsimple
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had deprecatedperfect
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was deprecatingprogressive
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were deprecatingprogressive
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had been deprecatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deprecate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin dēprecātus “prayed against, warded off” (past participle of dēprecārī ), equivalent to dē- “away from, out of“ + precārī “to pray” + -ātus past participle suffix; see de-, pray, -ate 1
Explanation
To deprecate is to show disapproval or to make someone feel unimportant by speaking to them disrespectfully, like seniors who deprecate younger students just for fun. To deprecate is to diminish, or to oppose, like when someone deprecates your dream of climbing Mt. Everest by calling it "a little walk up a hill." Some people deprecate themselves, which is called being self-deprecating. People who are self-deprecating downplay their abilities because they are humble — or want to appear that way. So if you do climb Everest and you are self-deprecating, you'll say it wasn't such a big deal, even if it was the proudest moment of your life.
Vocabulary lists containing deprecate
Frankenstein
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
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Grade 12, List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I therefore deprecate attempts to expound Wittgenstein’s thought as a finished thing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
A lot of people don’t know that world, so I’m going to have to introduce myself to them and then self-deprecate enough to earn the opportunity to then deprecate them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2025
It’s a big lift, though: Consumers have Netflix and Facebook at their fingertips, and newsrooms that were cut in half are pivoting online and relying on digital metrics that deprecate routine civic coverage.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2021
“Why? Because those algorithmic systems precisely are designed like a great, sort of giant spam filter to identify and deprecate and downgrade bad content.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 12, 2021
But he was loquacious this evening, seeming anxious to deprecate a harsh verdict on her part.
From My Lords of Strogue Vol. III, (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Wingfield, Lewis
He regularly deprecates himself with a dry wit.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2023
However, it is specified that the Speaker "deprecates personal remarks about other Members".
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2018
Though there is obviously truth in this approach, then and now, du Rivage deprecates it as much as it has ever been deprecated.
From The New Yorker ● May 8, 2017
Conversely, she is deeply interested in how contemporary culture feeds on and deprecates female vulnerability and pain.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2017
Paul himself is emphatic upon its real irrelevance to the Christian's main concern, and he deprecates the attention paid to it.
From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)
“Blocking public posts makes no sense. It needs to be deprecated in favor of a stronger form of mute,” Mr. Musk tweeted.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
For now, there is a lot of nonautomated, human effort involved in the process of pruning the internet encyclopedia from the Daily Mail and other deprecated sources.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2021
MD5 is strongly deprecated and this points to troubling software development security practices in Yahoo or its suppliers.”
From The Guardian ● Dec. 15, 2016
And the Archive says it'll do a better job of supporting deprecated formats, so the media inside old web pages won't vanish forever.
From The Verge ● Oct. 22, 2015
The creation of privileged classes in our country is to be deprecated.
From Monopolies and the People by Cloud, D. C.
His own company SpaceX, he now says, despite previously deprecating the moon, will focus on developing a “self-growing city” there “in less than 10 years.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
It’s niche, yes, but the folks interested in that niche are passionate about it, despite the deprecating memes.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2024
As early as 1989, Gaines had conceived of a show that would juxtapose powerful contemporary work by Black Americans with deprecating excerpts by art critics, highlighting the profound mismeasure of these artists’ achievements.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
He behaves like a Comic-Con veteran, his self deprecating humour playing perfectly with the audience for a panel for forthcoming fantasy movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2022
There was a rustle and a slight, deprecating cough from the direction of the woods.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
